Comment Corner: Week of March 28th

Every week Comment Corner kicks it up a notch to the point where this week one of your comments ended up in a post. I'll never stop saying it: you have so much more knowledge than I could ever hope to contain on this site. That's why Sundays are great for showcasing you, the reader.

This Week’s Comments

I bought one because of my experience on set. There’s only so much room in your pockets that you can fit lens cleaner, pens and pencils, note pads and other bits and bobs. Mine is specifically designed for AC’s so has a couple of separate compartments and lots of pen holders (which are very useful indeed!). But yes – I would DEFINITELY recommend one. Doesn’t necessarily have to be a specifically designed AC pouch – but as long as it does the job that you need it to – then there’s no reason why you can’t let your imagination run wild. I don’t see the point in paying more that £25/$50 for a pouch. It’s only just going to get dusty and dirty. if you do decide to buy one that not specifically designed – make sure it’s hard wearing and WATERPROOF! The last thing you want is wet lens tissue or leaky pens running all in your pouch!

Also, what I like to call, “The Perfect Handoff” is a neat little trick. You don’t want to have to rotate the lens to seat it into the mount, cold weather long days, small lenses etc can open the opportunity to fumble that $15K+ piece of glass. The trick is when you hand off a lens, position it in the 1st AC’s hand so the witness mark or engraved focal length is on their thumb. When they go to put it on the camera it will perfectly seat into place without needing to rotate it. It’s one of those things that will make you a couple seconds more efficient and a little less likely to ever fumble.

Because I wear so many hats at my production company, I’m often the one putting the camera in danger with flame bars and air mortars launching blood or debris. You can’t overstate the importance of everyone (in every department) being fully aware of exactly what is taking place on set. And if possible, doing so days in advance, so everyone is properly prepared.

With any on-set special effect, protect yourself first, gear second. Take a moment to think about your own safety, and determine if you need to be wearing eye protection, ear protection, or any form of protective clothing. Once you know you are good, your mind is clear to focus on protecting the gear and capturing a great shot.

You’re not much use to your department if you can’t see the equipment you are charged with protecting!

Having something more tailored towards what you’re applying for, IMO speaks to your desire for the job, that you’ll put the effort to show the points that would make you a great hire for that particular gig. It even just shows to yourself, that you’re willing to make the effort :)

I tell people wanting to work in camera to ignore conventional resume formatting and just keep it simple. The most important details should be big at the top. Those are your name, position, union affiliation (if any), and official city/state of residency. If you are a local you should make that loud and clear because it will mean big savings to the production.

Next, I list the last my best credits from the last year or so in order from largest to smallest. 6-10 credits is plenty. If you have 50 feature credits dating back 20 years you probably don’t need my advice but you can list them concisely and quickly. If you worked on The Abyss that is cool but I don’t really need to see it at the top as your crowning achievement of the last 20 years. I want to know what you did recently and if you can format a Red media card in camera.

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